A record average and a top price of £52,000 made for a successful day at Border Union’s Kelso Ram Sales on Friday September 10, which saw the return of marquees over each ring following an open-air event last year.
As it turned out, the canvas cover was much appreciated by buyers and sellers alike, but the relentless rain failed to make a negative impression on the day’s trade, with 3,626 rams selling to average a record £999.39.
That’s an increase of £29 per head on the year, for 90 more sold, with an impressive clearance rate of 82%.
The Texel breed commanded the day’s top prices, with eight shearling rams hitting the five-figure mark, selling to a top of £52,000 for the best from the Wright family’s Midlock consignment, from Crawford.
Reaching the top spot was Midlock Express, a son of the 34,000gns joint purchase, Claybury Dunkirk. The dam, a Mullan Amigo daughter, had previously bred sons to 13,000gns.
Second top sale at £40,000
A second prize winner at the Royal Highland, this one sold to the Dunlops at Elmscleugh, Dunbar, and Steven Renwick’s Craig Douglas flock at Peebles.
From the same pen, Midlock shepherd Brian Gilchrist sold a shearling from his own Dundas flock, a son of Mitchellhill Actionman, at £10,000, to Robert Cockburn, Hill of Errol, Perthshire.
Second top, at £40,000 was Douganhill Extra Special, brought out by Brian and David MacTaggart at Castle Douglas.
Sired by Claybury Dazzler, he had stood reserve male champion at the Royal Highland this year. He was knocked down to the Ingram family at Logie Durno.
On the other side of the coin, the Ingrams had a successful day themselves, selling pedigree Texels for the first time at Kelso, from their Inverurie-based flock.
Their nine shearlings averaged £6,567, peaking at £32,000, for a son of the home-bred Logie Durno Braveheart, which they had used at home, before selling at Builth Wells for £6,000.
Five-figure sellers
Out of a ewe by Granite Untouchable, this one went to Robin and Caroline Orr’s Halbeath flock at Dunfermline, buying along with Alex and Russell Gray, Langside, Lanark.
The Ingrams also led the trade in the cross sheep rings, selling a Texel cross shearling at £5,000 to Messrs Barnes, Dungannon.
Gordon and David Gray were last in Ring 9, but it was worth the wait for them, with shearlings from their Ettrick consignment selling up to £17,000.
That one, a son of Douganhill Desperado, sold in a four-way split to Ian Hunter, Dalchirla, Crieff; the McKerrows at Uppermill, Tarves; Angus Kennedy, Mitchellhill, Biggar; and Andrew Renwick, Blackhouse, Yarrow.
Second best from Ettrick, at £10,000, was one by Claybury Dunkirk, which sold to NC and CG Hedges, Cinderbank, Staplecross.
Achieving his best price to date, Dougie Fleming, Burnhead, Coulter, sold a shearling son of Tatham Hall Class Act at £14,000, to James Whiteford, Tercrosset, Brampton.
The other five-figure seller was one from the Quicks’ Loosebeare flock from Devon, a Teiglum Cosmic son which sold at £10,000 to RM and GL Watkins, Upper Cwm, Hereford.
Airyolland Goldfinger achieves Beltex record
The Beltex breed enjoyed a flier of a trade, with the shearling ram Airyolland Goldfinger, from Neale and Janet McQuistin, New Luce, achieving a new breed record at Kelso, selling at £11,000 to the McAllisters’ Northern Ireland-based Artnigullion flock.
An Ardstewart Dare Devil son, his full brothers had made 18,000gns and 12,000gns at Carlisle.
Gary Beacom, Lakeview, Co Tyrone, sold two at £8,000 apiece and one at £7,500.
All sons of Ainstable Factotum, the first, a full brother to the 29,000gns Lakeview Golden Girl, sold at Carlisle last month, went to Stuart Wood’s Woodies flock at Skene, along with Alan Miller, Lurg, Midmar, and Grant Anderson’s Topflite flock at Dumfries.
The other at £8,000 went to Simon Stevens, Meikle Geddes, Nairn, while NC and CG Hedges took home the £7,500 seller.
Jock McMillan, Carse of Clary, also achieved £8,000, for Clary Gigolo, a Borderesk Leapfrog son which sold to Messrs Williams, Cefncrin, Wales.
Teenager Finlay leads the way as Bluefaced Leicesters in demand
Another strong demand for Bluefaced Leicesters saw prices peaked at £8,200 for a shearling ram from young Finlay Robertson, 19, of the Beeches flock from Crosswoodhill, West Calder, with another two selling at £4,800 and £4,500.
All were embryo brothers, being the result of a flush from a home-bred ewe by a B41 Hewgill and sired by the privately purchased L22 Blarnavaid.
The dearest sold in a three-way split to Craig and Katreen Malone, Pitcairn, Lochgelly; Iain Minto, Townhead, Dolphinton; and Andrew and Ian Cullens, Dollarbank, Dollar.
The £4,800 Beeches shearling sold to A Smellie and Partners, Posso, Peebles, with the £4,500 ram knocked down to Neil Anderson, farm manager at Cranshaws, Duns.
Malcolm Thornborrow and Sons, Easter Dawyck, Stobo, sold the second highest priced Bluefaced Leicester at £8,000 – a shearling ram by the £30,000 M1 Hewgill, out of the H38 Dawyck ewe.
He sold to Alastair MacArthur, Nunnerie, Elvanfoot, and Kevin Ridley, Shittlington Hall, Hexham.
Top price for the Wright family’s Midlock consignment was £6,200 for a shearling by Midlock Zeus, purchased by Malcolm Coubrough, Lamington.
Aberdeenshire breeder Jimmy Douglas, Woodhead of Cairness, sold the two top-priced Border Leicesters at £3,600 and £2,900. Both are by an Alticane sire, with the former selling to Messrs White, Lea Gate, Malham, and the latter to Messrs Brown, Millmoor, Lanark.
Ingrams do brisk trade in Suffolks
In addition to their success in the Texel rings, the Ingrams from Logie Durno, Pitcaple, Inverurie, had a field day for their first big year selling Suffolks at Kelso, producing one of the lead entries at £9,000 while also buying the third highest priced lot at £5,000.
William and Carole Ingram, sons Gregor and Bruce and daughter Amy, sold the first of two Suffolk shearling rams at £9,000, to Jim Pate and Sons, Toxside, Gorebridge.
He is by a home-bred son of Logie Durno Born to Be Wild and out of a home-bred ewe.
The family also sold another by the same sire for £3,000 to the Stewarts of Kininmonth, Cupar.
Logie Durno bought the pre-sale champion, a shearling ram from Alex and Russell Gray, Langside, Kirkfield-bank, for £5,000.
Jonathan Watson of the Brijon flock, Bowsden Moor, Berwick upon Tweed, also took £9,000 for a Suffolk shearling from Iain Campbell, Glenrath, Peebles.
Neil and Stuart Barclay, Harestone, Insch, went to £3,800 for a shearling from James Alexander’s Jalex flock from Northern Ireland; and Fraserburgh-based breeder Irene Fowlie, Adziel, Strichen, received £2,600 for a high index shearling ram from Messrs Emmerson, Trabrown, Lauder.
Suffolk ram lambs peaked at £3,600 for a son of the 2,600gns Dunrho Last Chance, from Helen Goldie’s Harpercroft flock from Kilmarnock.
Bryden Nicolson, Highfield Farming, Knockem, Duns, was the final bidder on this lamb bred from a Strathbogie 24 Carat-sired dam.
Ronnie Black and sons Mike and Pete, Newton of Collessie, Cupar, sold their best at £2,000 to Northern Ireland breeder Alastair Black.
Breed averages
Shearlings
- Beltex £1054.19 for 253.
- Barrichon £627 for 14.
- Blue Texel £473.13 for 32.
- Bluefaced Leicester £1180.98 for 396.
- Border Leicester £1000.53 for 38.
- Charollais £656.08 for 97.
- Lleyn £384.52 for 31.
- North Country Cheviot £714.55 for 22.
- Suffolk £1178.84 for 215.
- Texel £1486.78 for 621.
- Crosses £809.51 for 515.
- Unregistered Suffolks £908.42 for 448.
- Unregistered Texels £844.33 for 586.
Lambs
- Suffolk £666.79 for 165.
- Texel £740 for 101.
- Charollais £480.48 for 40.
- Bluefaced Leicester £1050.00 for 12.
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